Balmy science

I wrote a post about science and superstition a short while ago. The point I wanted to get across was that even though many of us modern people are members of the new religion, science, we’re still pretty.. Well, how should I put it, crazy?

One of the people that read the post told me about The Flat Earth Society. I’d never heard about them and I thought for a moment it was a joke, but it seems to be meant seriously. There are actually some who believe that there is a conspiracy and they have taken it upon themselves to educate the rest of us. This society is dedicated to collecting proof that the Earth is flat. It sounds like a part of the plot to Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

The Flat Earth Society should be interested in spreading their message, but they seem to keep a very low profile. Not that I blame them. It must be hard promoting something literally only a handful of people in the world believe in. Listen to a short interview with Daniel Shenton, the leader of The Flat Earth Society. He sounds very rational, but is still far out there.

It reminds me of a song I heard years ago. I think it was Shaggy singing It wasn’t me. In the music video he had parties with a harem of women, as is often the case in hip-hop videos, and his wife had video evidence. But he stood his ground and said: It wasn’t me. The Flat Earth Society is almost doing the same. Whatever you tell them, it has to be a lie because they have got to you too. I agree that it’s healthy with some skepticism of scientific claims. Everything must be verified, but this is too Fox Mulder-like.

The organization probably didn’t appreciate the joke, but Obama volunteered some new members recently.